Taken together, these chemical weapons strikes were estimated to have killed between 100 and 150 people. These fatalities did not generate significant public uproar in the context of a war that had already taken more than 90,000 lives by the spring of 2013. Still, the findings called into question whether Obama had been serious when he warned of “enormous consequences.” I had taken a short leave from the Obama administration in late March of 2013 in order to prepare for what I thought was my next assignment as Undersecretary of State. When Ben Rhodes convened a conference call with the press
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